Defending champ Serena Williams out
BASEBALL: The Dodgers acquired LHP Scott Alexander from the Royals in a three-team deal. The White Sox got relievers Luis Avilan and Joakim Soria and cash. The Dodgers also obtained minorleague IF Jake Peter, and the Royals added a pair of minor-leaguers . ... Rob Picciolo, a former major-league infielder who later coached with the Padres and Angels, died Monday of a heart attack at 64. Picciolo played for the Athletics, Angels and Brewers during a nine-year career. He spent 20 years with the Padres as a minor-league manager and on the big-league coaching staff under three managers.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Oklahoma LT Orlando Brown is entering the NFL draft, where he is projected as a high first-round pick. The 6-foot-8, 345-pound redshirt junior was a first-team All-American and Outland Trophy finalist this season . ... Also entering the draft are Sooners TE Mark Andrews, Florida State DL Josh Sweat and Stanford DL Harrison Phillips. Andrews won the Mackey Award as the nation’s best tight end. The 6-foot-5, 253-pound Sweat led the Seminoles in sacks (51⁄2) and tackles for loss (121⁄2). Phillips was a third-team All-American with 141⁄2 tackles for loss and 71⁄2 sacks for the Cardinal . ... Carmen “Carm” Cozza, who coached Yale to 10 Ivy League titles over 32 years, died Thursday at 87. Cozza coached the Bulldogs from 1965 to 1996 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
GOLF: Tiger Woods announced he will play the Farmers Insurance Open on Jan. 25 at Torrey Pines, the San Diego course where he has won eight times. He also said he will play the Genesis Open at Riviera in Los Angeles starting Feb. 15. Riviera is where Woods played his first PGA Tour event as a 16-year-old amateur. He last appeared there in 2006, though it is back in play because the Tiger Woods Foundation now runs the tournament.
NFL: Titans RB DeMarco Murray will miss his second straight game after the team ruled him out against the Chiefs for their AFC wild-card game Saturday. Murray hurt his right knee late in a loss Dec. 24 to the Rams and has not practiced since . ... Bills RB LeSean McCoy says he’s making progress with his right ankle injury but his status is uncertain for Sunday’s wild-card game against the Jaguars.
SKIING: Marcel Hirscher won a slalom in Zagreb, Croatia, to match Alberto Tomba’s tally of 50 men’s World Cup wins. The six-time overall champion from Austria became only the fourth male skier to reach that mark, also joining Hermann Maier (54) and Ingemar Stenmark (86).
ALSO: Banned from the Olympics for life as doping cheats, seven Russian bobsled and skeleton athletes — including Sochi skeleton champion Aleksandr Tretiakov — have been cleared to race in World Cup events . ... Rob Picciolo, a former majorleague infielder who later coached with the Padres and Angels, died Monday of a heart attack at 64. Picciolo played for the Athletics, Angels and Brewers during a nine-year career. He spent 20 years with the Padres as a minor-league manager and on the big-league coaching staff under three managers.
MELBOURNE, Australia — Defending champion Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Australian Open, saying she is not ready to return to tournament tennis.
Williams was pregnant with her first child when she won last year’s tournament at Melbourne Park, the 23rd Grand Slam singles title of her career.
She gave birth to her daughter, Alexis, in September.
Williams, of Palm Beach Gardens, played in an exhibition tournament last week in Abu Dhabi and indicated after her loss to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko that she might not make it to Melbourne.
The Australian Open begins Jan 15.
“After competing in Abu Dhabi I realized that although I am super close, I’m not where I personally want to be,” Williams said in a statement released Friday by Australian
“My coach and team always said ‘only go to tournaments when you are prepared to go all the way.’ I can compete — but I don’t want to just compete, I want to do far better than that and to do so, I will need a little more time.
“With that being said, and even though I am disappointed about it, I’ve decided not to compete in the Australian Open this year.”
Williams, 36, is a seventime champion of the Australian Open and needs one more Grand Slam title to tie the all-time record held by Margaret Court.
Her withdrawal comes less than 24 hours after fellow former world No.1 Andy Murray withdrew from the men’s event with a chronic hip injury.
Several other big names, including top-ranked Rafael Nadal, six-time champion Novak Djokovic and 2014 winner Stan Wawrinka, also are dealing with injuries. Open organizers.